Merida Comes
by bStormhands
Summary: Merida incarnates at Disney, and Mulan shows her the ropes of being a Disney Princess. Merida learns how to be a muse to those seeking inspiration. Merida and others fight to help those who need some inspiration to get them through the dark times.
1. Chapter 1 Merida Comes

Mulan knelt outside in the garden of Cinderella's castle and waited patiently. Hoping that what was going to happen would be strong enough.

Snow White had waited in this same garden for another princess but Eilonwy hadn't really formed and then she had faded from her arms, not enough people have believed. Snow White still had nightmares about that.

What had happened to Giselle, had been beyond strange, Cinderella would get all jumpy whenever men in dark suits and briefcases wandered around the park. Mulan shivered in the warm sun.

It was hard to meditate as she waited, not that she was good at it, she'd much rather poke around the gardens and rides and shops. She was dressed in her traditional clothes but had her sword on her hip, the synopsis had told them enough that it might be necessary.

There was a cloud of light and the echoing sound of applause and cheering, people were believing; a girl in a green dress and wild red hair began to form and she did indeed have a bow, arrows and a sword as well. She looked a lot like Rapunzel, the new animation techniques the artists were coming up with were so interesting.

"Merida," said the girl, her face coming up. "My name is Merida and I am a princess."

Mulan smiled and stood smoothly as the new princess became more solid.

"Happy Birthday, Merida. My name is Mulan."

Merida opened her eyes and looked around.

Then her hand moved and her sword was out but it clashed against Mulan's.

"Where am I? Where is my mum and my family? What is this place?" Merida demanded.

"They are fine, and quite safe. You know where they are. Just remember." Mulan said calmly, taking form for the first time was very disconcerting. Pocahontas had greeted her and calmed her. Mulan had been right to bring her sword. Merida was a fiery one.

Nowadays there was all kinds of support for a new princess. Snow White had been the first and had been alone for so long and there hadn't even been much of a place at first, but Mickey had been there, but Snow White had not shared what Mickey had gone through.

Merida's vibrant blue eyes unfocused as she did remember, "Yes, they are. Where am I?"

"This is Disneyworld."

"Disneyworld?"

"It's a bit more complicated then that, we are in the universe that Walt Disney created and we are inhabiting it and others are extending it by their belief. Belle can explain it better then I can. You'll meet her soon, I'll introduce you to the others, but you might want to put the sword away. We are friends." Mulan looked pointedly at the swords that they held in their hands.

"Oh right, sorry," said Merida, who put her sword away as did Mulan.

"It's quite alright. Incarnating is disconcerting. I was real once I think, and became a legend, then a myth, my story was wading from memory, few people were telling my story anymore. I was almost lost, but I was found by the Disney company and made what I am now. I am not the same as I was, but more real then I have ever felt before, that I can remember."

"Yes," said Merida, not exactly sure what Mulan meant, but she wasn't exactly sure what had happened. She knew she was much older then she felt and part of her was very new. She had a story inside of her that was very old; told to children and others over generations, yet there was another story, different but related, that was so much of her now. Disconcerted is a very apt word for how she felt just then.

"Come sit, have some tea, while I begin to tell you all about your new home."

"But my home is Castle DunBrock?"

"Yes that is your home, but this is home too. You'll come to understand."

They knelt together at a low table and Mulan prepared the tea. Merida thought Mulan had a very complicated way of making tea, but she waited politely, as Mum had taught her so boringly.

"I am Mulan. I am from China, I became a Disney princess because I wanted to save my crippled father from having to join the army to fight the Huns. I disguised myself as a man and joined the army in his stead. I brought down a mountain to destroy the Hun army. I defeated their leader Shan Yu and saved the emperor and China." Mulan bowed her head. Merida looked impressed

"There will be many characters to meet, most good, some bad, many very different. The most important is Mickey Mouse, he is where this all started." Mulan said, picking up the Magic Mirror Belle had lent her, which made for a less overwhelming experience then meeting them all directly.

The mirror showed Merida a mouse, but not a mouse that ever poked its nose out of a hole in her castle. It walked upright, wore clothes, had hands and appeared to talk and it changed over time taking on color and depth.

"He rules this place and no it doesn't make any sense yet. This is just an overview of the most important characters you will be meeting soon. There are very many and it will take time. You are a princess now and you have many duties, the vast majority of which will be fun." Mulan explained. Merida nodded, confused but willing to give this strange, gentle girl a chance to explain, she was good enough with the sword to be a challenge to deal with.

"This next will make more sense. This is Snow White, she was the first Disney princess. She is young, kind and gentle. She rules not only because she is eldest but she is also a queen and a good ruler. She was born a princess, but her mother died. Her father remarried and then he died. Her step-mother the Queen was very jealous and was a witch as well. When Snow White's beauty outshone her own, she ordered the death of Snow White. Who ran away into the Dark Forest and hid with the seven Dwarves. The Queen learned Snow White was alive and poisoned her with an apple. While the Queen was killed, Snow White was locked in eternal sleep by the poison, but she was found by a Prince who she had fallen in love with and woke her with True Love's kiss."

"A kiss cured poison?" Merida asked doubtfully.

"True Love's kiss. You should know just how powerful love can be against magic."

Merida looked away and nodded.

"Next is Cinderella." The mirror glowed with a new face. "She was also orphaned at a young age. Her step-mother was a vain and jealous women who looked only to the welfare of her own daughters, and made Cinderella a servant in her own home."

"Another orphan?"

"Many of the princesses grew up under unusual circumstances. We are two that grew up with both parents. Not all have been so lucky."

Merida nodded.

Mulan continued, "The king wanted a wife for his son and invited all the eligible young women to a ball for his son. With the help of her Fairy Godmother Cinderella made it to the ball and she and the prince fell in love. She tends to run things around her, she is really good at organizing things."

"It sounds like all the princesses get the guy and a happy ending."

"No, they don't." Merida's mouth dropped open.

"The next is the Princess Aurora. Her ending does indeed look happy, but it doesn't feel happy, something is wrong. Her parents wished for a baby and she was born, then fairies came and began to give her gifts, the evil witch Maleficent came and cursed her to die before her sixteenth birthday."

Merida's eyebrows jump into her hair.

"But one fairy still had a gift to give and made the curse a sleep. The fairies hid the babe and raised her, they came home too early and the witch accomplished her curse and even captured her prince. The fairies rescued him and he fought the witch who turned into a dragon. He destroyed the witch and broke the spell."

"That sounds good." Merida said cautiously.

"Indeed, but Aurora was forced by Maleficent to touch the spindle, not fooled like Snow White or others. Something feels wrong about her story."

"Ariel was a mermaid who wanted to be human. She traded her beautiful voice for a pair of legs. She was almost cheated by the seawitch, but with the help of her prince they killed the witch.

"Then there is Belle," Mulan moved on. "This mirror is hers and she is letting me borrow it. She is very beautiful and smart. If you have questions she is more then willing and able to help. She traded herself to a terrible beast for her father's freedom. The beast turned out to be a prince caught in a spell."

"Jasmine is a princess, the daughter of a Sultan, she wanted to escape the forced marriage she was facing. She wanted to be free too. But found love in a prince who was really just a thief."

"Pocahontas is the daughter of a tribal chief, she fell in love with an English adventurer from across the sea. She stopped a war all by herself with no weapons but words. Then she had to give up her true love so he could be saved."

Merida nodded, here was another person she already felt a kinship too.

"Tiana, never wanted to be a princess, she wanted to own a restaurant to honor her father."

"A restaurant?" asked Merida.

Mulan thought for a moment. "Something like a dining hall were people come and pay for food she has made."

"Okay."

Mulan leaned in, "She makes really good food. Our gatherings at her palace are truly great feasts. The beignets are amazing."

Merida wondered what a beignet was, and wondered if it was better then those wonderful cakes Maudie made.

"Tiana was caught in a spell that had turned a prince into a frog. They really didn't like each other at first, she is quite industrious and he is rather lazy and was somewhat selfish. But they were able to work together to break the spell of the evil voodooman."

Merida found herself thinking that overcoming being turned into a frog would have been a huge challenge and finding someone else who might really understand what had happened to her mother and brothers.

"I expect you are beginning to tire, there is one last princess I will introduce you to is Rapunzel. She was stolen and kept in a tower; raised by her kidnapper who she thought of as her mother for eighteen years. A thief came to her tower and she captured him and forced him to take her to see the sky lanterns. Those lanterns were being launched by her kingdom to call her home. Then after many adventures she found out she was the Lost Princess, her mother was her kidnapper, her True Love cut off her magic hair then died as did the person she had known her whole life as mother."

"Wow."

"Please don't ask about her hair or her mother. She will tell you when she is ready." Mulan explained that while Tinkerbell had used some fairy dust (to be explained later) to make Rapunzel's hair longish and blonde again, it couldn't give her back her healing power. It was hard on Rapunzel when the children asked if she was really sure that it wouldn't work on their sick grandmother, mother, sister or themselves.

Merida nods.

"So, now what?"

"Now you will begin to meet people who love you and your story and I will begin to take you around to meet the princesses, princes, villains and many others. You will get great honor for doing this." They rise and walk to a door marked Castmembers Only.

* * *

Author's Note: Eilonwy was from The Black Cauldron a movie that didn't do that well and so she fades away. Giselle is from Enchanted but she didn't become an official Disney Princess due to legal issues over the use of Amy Adams' likeness, so the lawyers came and took her away.

What must it be like for a new princess appear? All kinds of things must happen but this was just a fun take on that.


	2. Chapter 2 Merida Touches

"And what is this strange place." Asked Merida as they entered a room that contained mirrors chairs and lots of bottles and containers, through another door she could see a room full of clothes.

"This is a castmember preparation room. Specifically this is a makeup room." Mulan explained, though not really, Merida had no intellectual framework to hang what she was saying on but something needed to happen soon that would help everyone. Mulan specifically stood by the door to wardrobe, an object lesson was usually the most effective.

"What is..." Merida cut off as several people walked into the room and right through Mulan including a beautiful girl wearing clothes that looked like Merida's. A person even walked through Merida as she brought a wig over.

Merida was standing around with her mouth hanging open. "I'm dead aren't I, but I thought we won against Mor'du."

Mulan smiled gently and walked forward and took Merida's hand which felt real. "No, you are not dead, you are more real and alive then you have been in a very long time. This place, Disneyworld, is a special place there are several around the world. The universe has a depth and wonder greater then most people pay attention too. It's going to take a while to explain, and I am not sure I understand. Belle talks like she knows but new things keep poking holes in her theories."

"What _is_ all this?" The wig is going on the girl who looks a lot like Merida now.

"It is quite complicated but in simple terms, this girl and others like her will be your representative to the people of the real world. She was chosen because she offered herself to the Disney company and was found to have qualities that seem to best embody who and what you are. She will be seen as you and internally be known as your friend."

"That sounds almost religious." Merida looks doubtful.

"God has His own representatives on earth, most people dismiss them more easier then us, who they know don't really exist. And they twist His word to their own desires more thoroughly then even the things they do to us. But we have seen His hand work wonders through us and others. As I said the universe is more deep and wondrous then most appreciate."

Merida thought about that, then moved to something simpler, "This girl is my friend?"

"In a way, so that is what she is called, she is one of your official representatives within the Disney company. There are also many others who wish to be like you and so dress as you."

"Really, why would they do that?"

"They love you."

Merida walked to be behind the girl, who now looked so much like her as the people worked on the hair and makeup. Thinking about how hard it had been to love her Mum again. How could a complete stranger love her?

Merida put her hands on the sitting girl's head.

Power flowed between them, and incredible sensation ran through Merida and into the girl, who changed. The changes were at once incredibly subtle yet utterly profound. The girl became even more like Merida.

Merida stumbled back, looking at her hands and then at the girl and back again. "What was that?"

"Very good. You imbued some of your power into her, helping her become more like yourself. You have inspired her to become more in-character. This girl is an actress, she expresses herself best by acting as a character, and she will help people and inspire them to better things."

"What?"

"We are embodiments of stories. In general terms, we are muses. We inspire humans with ideas, images, stories and more. Our power is in our stories and the more people who know our stories the more powerful we become, though just a few people who believe strongly can be just as good. Before you incarnated here you inspired the bard who passed your story around the fires of your home culture. In turn you inspired writers, directors, artists, animators and more to create your movie, who inspired many people. A muse who inspires the right person in the right place at the right time changes the course of history."

"Wow. Can I do that to anyone?"

"No, not really. Some people are more ...open to inspiration then others. So many variables have to be right but when the circumstances are right amazing things can happen, but even ordinary inspirations will be wonderful."

The girl and the others left the room.

"So now what?" Asked Merida.

"We go this way." And they faced a wall filled with photographs. Mulan shoves Merida through the wall.

**Author's Note: The basic idea was for Merida to be greeted as the newest Disney Princess. How might it be like for Merida to appear in Disneyworld? It wasn't much of a story idea, but there are some ideas coming from that that might be interesting. **

**So what does a Disney Princess due beyond be in her movie and merchandise? Among other things she is a face character, though it comes off as more complex then that because she inspires people.**

**I am not sure where this will go, but let's explore shall we?**


	3. Chapter 3 Merida Inspires

"Oy, what did you do that for? Why did I pass through that wall? What is this place?" Merida shouted at Mulan as Mulan serenely came through the walk.

"It was easier then dragging you through. We are muses, and aren't exactly corporeal so we can get away with things like this in the real world, besides it's fun. We are in the Art department. They are designing various kinds of merchandise around your image and story."

They wander around the building, there are people in offices drawing on paper and computer. The walls filled with art Merida was beginning to recognize as her and the other characters used by Disney. Though there are many she does not yet recognize but she could see that there were some connections as the artists used them as muses and inspirations for the work they were doing. She could feel connections to the artists. People in conference rooms arguing over designs for stickers and plastic plates and water bottles and dolls and more.

"Mulan, I am feeling a kind of connection to all these people, but I feel there are more connections and many extend beyond this place."

"Yes, indeed. You are not enslaved to Disney, many people are taking inspiration from you."

"Really?" asked Merida.

"How about we go see? Take my hand, Close your eyes and concentrate on one of them. Now take a step. Open your eyes," said Mulan.

"Where are we?"

"It's a classroom in a school." They were standing next to a teenaged girl who was doodling in her notebook as the teacher was droning on about Evapotranspiration.

"She's not paying very close attention, is she?" commented Merida.

"No, but this is not a terribly hard subject. Look at what she is doing," said Mulan.

Merida peered over the girls shoulder and saw she was drawing Merida's face and her wild hair. The face was just beginning to form.

"Now, touch her as you did your friend."

Merida reached out and put her hand on the shoulder of the girl and the girl's strokes became swift and sure. In moments the portrait was done.

"That looks really good."

"It is. Your touch heightened her capabilities and gave her a wonderful feeling of connectedness to the creative universe. You've inspired her and she isn't the same as she was before you did."

"I changed her?"

"Yes, but she was looking for inspiration and change within herself and you helped with that."

"Can we see another one?"

"Of course. Concentrate again like before." There was a shift and Merida opened her eyes, they were in a rather dark room a man is drawing on a tablet the glowing image forming on the large screen.

"Oh dear, not him again," sighed Mulan.

"Why on earth is he drawing my mother and I like that?" Merida asked shocked and disgusted.

"Humans will try to call on the muses to create things that are twisted and wrong. Things that will hurt themselves and others."

"Who is that?" A girl appeared with wild red hair, exaggerated female proportions and wearing a very revealing tartan outfit. She moved to the man and began to run her hands over him possessively. Merida's hand went for her sword.

"Don't bother, we don't fight like that. That is the evil version of you. Muses can be good or evil. There are evil versions of all of us out there."

"We should fight them!"

"We can and do, but not with that kind of weapon. The humans need to make a choice, between good and evil. We are good and so we can try to inspire them to choose good."

"I can? Then I will" Merida steps forward and puts her hand on his shoulder. The man pauses for a while as the two muses inspire him in different directions, two images fought within him; one toward good, the other evil. After a time Merida's hand lifts as the man chooses the evil muse's inspiration, who cackles in victory.

Merida comes back to Mulan. Tears of frustration on her face. "He has such talent, but he chose the evil. It hurts him, it will destroy him. How can anyone choose that?"

"I don't know. But not all choose evil. And there is hope still for him. So we inspire toward good. Come I can show you."

Mulan takes Merida's hand and they shift. They are in a small home office, books fill the shelves and an older woman is typing into a old laptop on her desk. Snow White is behind her, her hands on the woman's shoulders, her fingers fly across the keyboard, and tears are dripping down her face.

Merida reads the developing story, it is tender, poignant and powerful, soon tears come to her eyes. Hours pass, the night comes and the story grows, terrible things happen to Snow White but in the end she triumphs against terrible odds. Finally the woman stops and stumbled to the kitchen for food and drink and then sleep.

"How do you do, Merida?"

"Hello, Snow White. That was incredible. Was that truly part of your story?"

"It is not part of my traditional story, but I accept it as mine, for her sake."

"Why?"

"A few hours ago she had planned to kill herself." She gestured to a gun on one side of the desk.

Gasp!

"But first she wanted to watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarves one last time. Her favorite movie as a child. She was looking for something to hang on to, and I was able to inspire her and she poured himself into that story, and deal with the pain she's been carrying all these years. I will continue to inspire her to live, as long as she will listen."

"We can do that?" Snow White and Mulan look at each other and nod.

"That is what we do, we inspire people to be their best selves. That can make incredible changes in peoples' lives." Said Snow White.

"There is a lot more to being a princess then I thought."

"We are Disney Princesses. There is far more to us then most people can imagine, and you will learn just what it means. Right now my story is inspiring multitudes, beyond fairy tale and my Disney movie and material there is a TV show and other movies and numerous books and stories."

Merida's eyes go a little wide. "Will this story become a movie too. It's so good."

"I don't know. Probably not, so very few stories become movies. It may never leave this house, though I am hoping it will be posted on the internet, it is a good story and can be the basis to inspire many others who have gone through terrible things and that would be very good. But it is her choice."

"I tried to inspire someone and he chose the evil Merida, she will destroy him." Merida said quietly, looking down.

"I know that happens, it is their choice, so much is. I fought an evil muse here that has been trying to have her kill herself and I was able to prevail this time. She'll be back and we'll fight again, and I will fight until this person dies of old age, if I must." The fierceness in Snow White's voice reminds her of her mother Queen Elinor, especially when she had been a bear.

"And so will I." Merida vowed.


	4. Chapter 4 Merida learns

Merida and Mulan are coming off of the carrousel. Merida had a wonderful time, but just a slight bit dizzy. Angus didn't run in circles.

"That was so fun. Are all the rides like that?" asked Merida.

"No, some are even more fun. But I enjoy that one a lot, it is pleasant to begin a day with, some of the others you need to build up to. Like the rollercoaster." replied Mulan taking Merida to see the screaming people zoom past.

"Wow. That goes really fast."

"Indeed it does, but it is very safe. Though it doesn't feel safe at all."

"Why?"

"Because it's fun."

Mulan is showing Merida around some of the rides.

Merida was beginning to get used to the fact that the Disneyverse is filled with so many different creatures, people that were shaped so oddly and animals some that walked upright and wore clothes and others that didn't. It was so odd at first but they were all muses like her, taking some rest from inspiring the humans that cared about them.

A small dark colored centauress wearing sunflowers around herself was trotting down the street. She was in color, not everyone was, but she looked faded and translucent. Mulan told her that some muses were being forgotten, not many humans remembered them or their stories. While a muse didn't die exactly it was possible if no one remembered the story and all copies of a story were destroyed a muse would fade into the void of creative intention, to be spun out as a new story. Maybe.

The centauress smiled at Merida and Mulan, who said hello. Suddenly the centauress stopped "Oh no. Oh No." She burst into tears and fell weeping to the pavement as she faded a little more.

Merida, Mulan and other ran to her. "What's wrong?"

"Carla just died. She loved to watch her copy of Fantasia every Sunday after church. There are so few left." And she wept for the loss, they all did because they could all become like her some day. Tiana appeared and gave her comfort.

"Why do so many who remember me only hate me?" she wailed to her best friend.

It took some time but Sunflower calmed down, Tiana took her to her place for some beignets.

Mulan sighed.

"What?" asked Merida.

"Her story is more tragic then most. They have had her cut from Fantasia and so she fades faster then most as the old copies decay."

"Cut!"

"Yes."

"But why?"

"She comes from a time in history that some find disturbing and embarrassing. So they try to make it go away by erasing their own history."

"Erasing their own history? But that will hurt them worse then knowing what happened, won't it?"

"Yes it will, because they will not remember what went wrong, they will do it wrong again. We try to inspire so they remember their own past and become better for it. Not everyone does though." Mulan sighed.

Mulan continued as they walked toward the palace. "The human world is filled with choices, and some choose badly. It is bad enough when it is themselves but virtually all choices effect the people around them. Sometimes humans have burned books to try and change their history, or have not taught people to read. During times of slavery it has often been a capital offense to teach a slave to read."

"They would kill people who taught slaves to read! But reading is no big deal." said Merida.

"Reading is a very big deal. It compresses years, even centuries of experiences and learning into something you can absorb in hours. That makes reading very powerful. But now evil has become more subtle, reading is taught to everyone now, but it is made so difficult or boring that fewer people read all the time. A story looses its power if it is never read. Come I need to show you something."

Mulan leads Merida to the Magic Mirror.

"Magic mirror on the wall.

Show us everything, show it all."

"As you wish, my ladies," the face left the mirror and something very different was seen.

"What is it?" Merida asked not sure what she was seeing. It looked like a big pile of bubbles on a big blue ball.

"This is the creative universe and how it intersects with the real world. Or at least a representation that we can get our minds around."

"Okay." Merida said cautiously, it seemed so big and so much.

"The blue ball is the Earth. This central bubble is the Disneyverse. It's not really the center, we are just starting here because this is where we are. There are all these small bubbles on the outside edge, these are people who are creating something that was inspired by us."

"There's a lot of them." said Merida a little intimidated by how much she was seeing.

"Yes, there are."

"And all these other big bubbles that touch?" asked Merida.

"Those are other creative universes, the big ones are popular and in many people's minds. Over there is The Hunger Games, and that is Twilight, oh over there is Star Wars, that one is really fun." Mulan confessed.

"And why are some bright and others dark?" asked Merida.

"Some are good and some are evil."

"Oh."

"There is so much to do as a muse isn't there. But we can do great things for people."

"Yes there is, but the effects can last for generations. It is worth it." Confided Mulan.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry to stop and explain things, but I couldn't think of a better way.


	5. Chapter 5 Merida Guides

Merida Guides

Merida was looking over the Disney park from her room in Cinderella's palace when Mulan crashed into her room.

"Mulan, What's wrong?" she tried to say, but Mulan was talking over her.

"Come with me immediately. We have a Code Red in progress. She saw Brave recently so you have a connection to her." Mulan grabs her hand and they shift away finding themselves in a nice little suburban girl's bedroom. There are a few princess dolls on a shelf, but most of the room is covered with dark posters of various bands.

A redheaded girl is sitting on her bed, tears running down her face. There are earbuds in her ears and a player beside her they can hear the music blaring. The playlist is titled Maximum Depression. Beside the player are razor blades, and a notebook is filled with shaky writing.

Surrounding the bed are muses. On one side are good muses, some Merida recognized, including Brother Bear who had given her quite the turn when they first met. On the other side the evil muses chanting "Do it"

Kenai was yelling at the crying girl. "We had a happy ending in the end. I was changed into a bear and was in despair. It gets better. Turn off that song. Please. You can get through this."

"What's happening? What's a Code Red?" asked Merida, so much was happening, it was all so loud.

"A human life is in danger of ending by their own hand." Mulan says.

"But why?"

"Her parents are divorcing, her boyfriend left her for her best friend. She got a B on her science exam. Her favorite pen ran out of ink and a dozen other things. She's in a bad place right now, the dark place. The current song is "No way out" from Brother Bear. It isn't helping. She saw Brave the other day, she has the soundtrack. I'm hoping that one of your songs might inspire her. Please see if you can reach her."

"And if I can't?" Mulan just shook her head.

Merida touched the girl and tried to invoke the songs of her movie. But the evil muses and the music blaring in the girls ears were so loud, she couldn't really hear her, but there was a small echo. A photon of light in the darkness of the girls spirit. The memory of a beach.

"She can't hear me, they're too loud." Merida was frustrated. She was trying so hard tears were leaking down her evil muses were pushing the good muses away. They were winning.

Chernabog was next to her as Night on Bald Mountain was playing now, urging her to wait for the dawn.

For the embodiment of evil in the Disneyverse he was a good muse, a warning to those who would choose evil, especially compared to the actually evil muses who lead humans to destruction, who were on the other side of the bed trying to encircle the girl.

"It doesn't have to start with music. What else can you try? Hurry." The good muses were being pushed aside by the evil muses. If the circle closed...

The girl had the blade in her hand, and was just running it lightly along her arm, not enough to cut yet, she was still trying to become brave enough to push.

Merida needed to do something else. She felt an affinity within the girl, seeing what was in the girl's mind. The girl had seen that Merida had been brave, brave enough to run away to find a spell, why couldn't there be wisps to lead her to her fate. The wind in her face as she had ridden Angus had reminded her of a beach.

What was there of that beach that drew the girl?

Her parents?

Her brother?

The sound of the surf.

A line of bright red was on the girl's arm now.

The girl had been to the beach and the wind reminded her of Merida's ride and climb to the Fire Falls.

She had made it to the top of the dune and danced in the fading sun, she had won the race and tasted the sweetness of victory, not so much over the others but over herself too often too shy to even try and dare.

But she had dared and tried and won over herself, and danced the victory over the dunes.

Merida had something now and a web of memory built around that one good happy memory. Light was glowing in the girl's spirit now.

The evil muses were screaming and jumping, yelling terrible things about what the girl was like at her. But the girl put down the blade with a shaking hand. Merida and the good muses were singing "Touch The Sky" and it was echoing in the girls mind.

The evil muses redoubled their efforts but the girl clicked away from the music of death and to the Brave soundtrack. The girl was really hearing the song and soon was dancing; the good muses welcomed her and danced with her as the evil muses left the room. The girl danced; chasing the wind and touching the sky.

Then her mother called her for dinner.

"That was wonderful. Is it always like that?" Merida said smiling as they stopped dancing and the others

thanked her and shifted away.

Mulan's smile faded as she became somber. "No."

"But what would have happened to the girl?"

Mulan merely looked at the blood stained blade that had fallen next to the bed.

* * *

Author's Note: There is always light, if you come out from the shadow.


	6. Chapter 6 Merida Fights

Merida Fights

"What's happening?" Asked Merida, deeply concerned as she appeared next to Mulan. She was doing more things on her own now, slowly getting the hang of her princess duties. But the feeling that had drawn her here had been so urgent and unusual.

"Something terrible. A human girl has chosen to give herself to an evil muse." Mulan was there in her armor and her sword, Mushu was smoldering on her shoulder. Princess Aurora nodded from near the man.

"They can do that!"

"It doesn't happen very often, but it can happen." said Mulan grimly.

"Oh no. But where is she?" Merida was looking around. She sees a balding man in pajamas sitting in bed typing away on his laptop, a woman sleeping next to him. She had expected a girl's room, were these her parents?

"She is far away from here. We can't do anything for her now. She has made her choice. She has given herself so completely to the evil muse that he is now in control of her body."

"We can do that!" Merida gasps.

"We are good, we _don't_ do that. Humans have free will, that is the most basic right God gave them; to take them over like that is utterly wrong and evil." Mulan says fiercely.

"Okay, but if we can't do anything, why are we here?"

"We can't do anything for her directly anymore, but he can. He is her last link to existence. Her sister and friends are going to sleep and her parents don't even understand that she is in trouble. They just think it's a phase, though they are worried that she may be going crazy and are talking about taking her to a doctor soon. If we can inspire him, he might be able to save her."

Merida's eyes are wide, "What is he doing?" as she watches him type on the computer.

"He is talking with a few of his fans about their stories. He is coming to realize that the person he is talking with is no longer just a teenaged girl. He knows she has been having problems with a muse. Her muse is a powerful and deceitful and very attractive character in her story, she has tried to break free of him several times, more times then the man knows, and this man has been helping her by guiding her away from him, but she has always called the evil muse back because she loves him like a father."

"How could she love an evil muse, they can't love back, can they?"

"No, they can't. But building a world together from nothing makes for a powerful connection. But she and her sister wrote themselves into the their world and their story. They exist in the real world and their world of imagination. The two of them are sustaining the world all by themselves."

"Really? That is impressive." said Merida.

"They are a powerful artists, they will do great things, but because of her choice today she will be used to cause great destruction." Said Mulan.

"Oh no."

"He is new to writing himself, but he is more talented then he realizes and he is good, good enough. Muses have made powerful connections with him and have written amazing stories that seem so real. He will have to face a choice very soon to do something or not and it will mean the life of the girl, and he doesn't even know it yet."

They and several other muses watch anxiously as the man bids goodnight to the last of his fans talking to him this evening. He has been wondering about the final fan with him this evening, the girl with the big story that seemed to never be able to be put down so she could have a life.

"Goodnight, daddy," typed the sister and signed off.

"Sleep well, kid." The man rolled his eyes a little at that but smiled too. It felt odd that these kids he's never met called him daddy. His wife thought it was darling, but having talked them out of cutting and suicide did make for a closer then normal connection. They were good kids, but the stress they were under seemed unrelenting and enormous.

"Are you okay?" He typed, the girl had been making odd comments this evening, they didn't sound right. Which was very odd.

The answer that came back was beyond chilling. The man's face paled. He knew it wasn't the girl. What was going on here?

Bad muses popped up around him, trying to lull him, telling him he's tired, it's not so bad, he needed sleep, tomorrow was a big day, just go to sleep.

He looked at the clock, it was late, so much to do tomorrow. He looked at his beloved wife, sleeping beside him. He cocked his head to hear the snores of his daughter in the next room.

He thought all he had to do was close the lid and go to bed, there would be more time tomorrow night.

Aurora reached out. He had talked her down before when she had talked about the muse wanting her to hurt herself. His heart and mind had rung like alarm bells because he knew she was in terrible trouble, at true suicide risk, not just one of those attention seeking suicide note posters. That had been a For-Real.

Since then, he had done what he could to help though that nasty muse kept coming back.

He kept asking her to do things that he was pretty sure would help. But that stupid muse kept coming back, he was worse then that cat. He had even gotten very annoyed at that muse in the advice he had given the girl, growling as he had typed and it had backed down.

Merida reached out. She had climbed and drunk from the Fire Falls to show her mother that she did want to be queen, she had been listening.

Then he realized just what she had been doing based on his word alone. Things that were hard, things that would hurt because the call of writing was so strong, putting it down was hard.

She trusted him, had shown that she loved him like a daughter, she was probably young enough for that. He knew that in his heart.

If she loved him like a father, then he would love her as a daughter. And there was only one way to react to an abusive threat to his child!

"What is that!" shouted Merida as heavy plate armor formed around the man sitting on the bed as he propped himself up to be able to more comfortably type.

"He has chosen to fight!" Mulan shouted exultantly. Impressed by the dragons on the armor.

"But why the armor at all, a muse can't hurt him."

"Maybe not directly but he can be hurt. The evil muse has the girl's mind under his hand. He would make her hurt herself physically to harm him."

"Oh, bother!" The invective was clear. Merida sees many muses begin to appear.

"Oh, Hi Belle, Rapunzel." Said Merida as she hailed Belle in her blue peasant dress and the magic mirror. Rapunzel was there with her frying pan.

"Hello Merida, Mulan. I take it something big is happening. I've not had a call like this for a long time," said Belle.

They look around, many muses are appearing, filling an area far bigger then the small bedroom.

"Who are all of these muses?" Asked Merida. She saw a great many of the Disney characters, but they were only a small percentage of all the muses present.

"Those are scientists, and teachers and all the books he's ever read and movies and TV shows he's watched. Everything he had seen and read and experienced has come to aid him to save the girl. This is a significant event."

An empty glade appeared like the one where Rapunzel and Eugene camped and two powerful wolves circled each other carefully in the darkness, massive power held lightly in check.

"What's that?" asked Merida.

"He has imagined a place for the contest."

"Really?"

"Yes, it is much like how Disneyworld was created it started with an image in a mind. His imagination is quite powerful. The girl and her sister have created an entire world."

Words are exchanged in the comments of a web page, and the battle had begun. The evil muse had come to flaunt his power over the girl, to taunt the man with the child he loved like his own.

The wolf turns into a man, a knight, with plate armor and weapons. He takes a knife from his belt and plunges it into the ground as he takes up the challenge fully.

Merida's jaw dropped open. "He's not going to retreat! Doesn't he know she freely choose the evil?"

"No, he doesn't, he believes her to be good and that she has done this as a deal to protect her sisters. He's wrong but he does not know that. But we can do something in that place."

Armies of muses good and bad are surrounding the combatants, though they cannot be seen. Terminators Vulcans and more step up to flank the man who had descended into a cold implacable determination.

He would free his daughter! The daughter he had known for only a few months, the daughter he had never met, the daughter he didn't know where she lived except in a particular state across the country, the daughter whose real name he didn't even know, the daughter he was diving into hell to save no matter the cost.

He knew that if this went bad, the girl's real parents could go to the police who could get the records from the website to find him. It's not like he particularly tried to hide. He could end up in prison, what was left of his life destroyed. His wife knew about his interactions and that he had saved this girl and others from suicide. But that was unlikely to impress a DA on a witch hunt.

He could end up screwed in so many ways, but he remembered the feeling in his heart when he was in Dachau, how the feel of evil had soaked into the very ground. Skeletally thin victims of the Holocaust came to stand by him now. The people of Dachau had done nothing and evil had flourished, terribly. He would not stand by, not this time, evil would be stopped!

Knights, soldiers, cops, cowboys, star ship officers, and other heroes came forward now.

But how to extract the evil muse without hurting the girl? Words could hurt, he knew that, but you had to care, and a monster like that didn't, couldn't care. What weapons could be brought to bear against a creature of the imagination?

Maleficent and the good fairies stepped forward. "Love and truth are the only weapons that evil can not stand against and those only need words."

There was furious typing as gently glowing balls of energy began to glow over the man's shoulders. The evil muse twisted around to dodge into shade and darkness, and countered with lies.

The man thought for a long moment; science, science fiction, and steampunk muses came forward. Mirrors and lens form around the glowing balls of light. Belle looked at it curiously, trying to figure out what was building on the man's shoulders.

Belle's mouth dropped open, "He's turning the Light of Truth and the Warmth of Love into energy weapons!"

"What! How? Would that work?" Merida asked.

"He's fighting a character in the realm of imagination. And he is quite skilled at imaging things. It may well work."

The girl had fought for so long, maybe she was tired, she may have even invited the evil character to come to her to protect her friends and sisters and brothers who he had threatened before. She had the heart of a true princess: generous and compassionate, willing to sacrifice herself to save her friends. The princesses stepped forward, linking arms, filling a hole in the wall of muses that had come to help.

Those energy weapons powered by Truth and Love were searching for their target. They had been refined into laser thin beams of devastating power.

Should the evil muse speak the truth; he would shatter.

If the girl, hidden under the hand of the evil muse, could see just one photon of love she would know that people still loved and cared for her and she could fight and win, she was the only one who could. All he had to do was find him, out there somewhere in the shadows.

The evil character fled the battlefield.

The man grunted in frustration, lusting for the fight that had been denied. Wanting to call the evil muse back with the taunt of coward; but no, he thought as his heart calmed. No, better to talk to the girl of love and hope and her own strength. A reminder that she might see in the morning. That it is worth it to fight and be free. Belle goes over and whispers instructions to him on how to destroy a muse. He sends the message.

Then the man prayed like he had few times in his life, weeping on his knees and then slept. The empty victory ashes on his tongue.

"Now what?" asked Merida somber, "Nothing was decided here."

"In the morning we will see her decision, but now we get to perform a duty we don't do very often, and this may be the rarest of all."

The muses gathered around the sleeping man and placed hands on his head. "There will be no stories nor songs for this man, but this we do before God, who sees all. We are the muses and we proclaim this man a Hero and for winning the battle grant him a gift: the mantle of Father to these girls!"

...

"The girls fights!" Mulan in her armor urges Merida to come. They appear in a girl's bedroom. Merida looks and sees the girl typing on her computer and looks around the huge world of imagination the girl and her sister had created. Every bit as massive and detailed as the world Walt made.

"...just you and me, father. Right here, right now with swords only," the girl was saying, scribbling into a notebook, in a field just outside a forest, huge mountains surround in the background. On one side of the field was the girl, with her sisters and all their good characters; a massive army. On the other was the evil character and his minions, also an army.

"You are good with that sword but I have not taught you everything, my daughter," warned the evil monster that had helped the girls father this world. He was very powerful here.

"Perhaps not, father. It gives you an advantage. You must take up my challenge or leave us forever."

"And want am I to gain from all this if I just happen to win?" The fierce winds blew his black hair out of his handsome face.

"Me." The girl said simply, her long brown hair tied into a compact bun. "I will give myself to you freely, completely and utterly. I will never fight you again and you can do with me as you wish, with one condition."

"And what is that one condition?" He cocked his handsome head.

"You leave my sisters alone. You never inspire them, you never contact them in any way whatsoever, forever." Iron determination shone in the girl's eyes, her voice solid.

The evil character looked over the girl and her sisters, considering. Inspiring them all had been heady, they were strong. But even just this one would be worth the telling of his story. She would tell it so very well. Maybe well enough to change the course of history toward evil.

"Done. I take up your challenge."

"Your word, father. On the challenge and your sword."

"Very good, my daughter. You know me well. I must stick to my story. I will cheat on everything else. On my sword and this challenge, we will contend for your mind, and even if I prevail I will never inspire your sisters. Done?" Asked the evil muse.

"Done." Said the young girl, but the evil muses sword had already left the sheath and was moving to rip her open. She barely dodged, the coat she was wearing showing the rip. She finally got her sword out and was defending herself but she was already bleeding from several places. She had not landed any blows herself.

"Oh, no she's in trouble already. Can't we do something?" asked Merida her bow in her hand and sword on her hip

"No, this is her fight totally and completely. If one of them breaks the challenge we can fight the evil muses on the other side. This is a war of imagination in a fictional world and we can fight here." said Mulan.

"Will she win?" asked Merida, but Mulan could only shrug.

They fought between the armies, ranging back and forth, the girl trying not to venture too close to the minions of the evil muse. They spun to exchange blows and the girl found a dagger in her side.

"Foul!" rose as a mighty cry. The challenge had been broken the armies surged and total war broke out.

"Merida, now!" ordered Mulan, and Merida and many others rose up. Arrows were loosed and the evil character was driven back to his minions in the realm of the story. The girl staggered but was caught by her sisters. Merida, Mulan and other muses created a perimeter around the girl and her sister in the realm of the muse.

The girl was healed from the wound of the imaginary dagger, but she was weeping on the bus to school, "He cheated, even now he cheated. He never loved me. My characters are fighting and dying for me."

"We need to end this, forever. Have you deleted everything?" asked the sister.

"On my computer, yes I think. I have to check the lab computer at school. Still have to delete everything from the website," said the girl.

"Good. Our brother has the binder and will be home soon. Have you gathered everything that's left?"

"Yes, there's a folder on my desk at home, I have to get all the notes I kept at school. Oh, I have to ask anyone who wrote fanfic or make fanart for my world to delete it. Several people have." Finished the girl.

"Okay, we'll take care of that when you get here. Our brother's bringing charcoal to burn everything. We keep nothing back, we have to end this, I don't know if we can handle going through this again. I wish Mom or Dad would actually listen to us, carving 'help' into my arm didn't work. Daddy's helped us so much in the fight against Father but I don't know if I can do this again." She had seen the fight Daddy and father had had in the comments of the webpage. She had been so frightened when she had realized that so much had happened when she had slept. She had to be strong, strong then she was now she she could protect her sister and even her Daddy.

"I know, me neither. I'm trying."

The girl added the papers to her backpack, then went to the computer and searched again for any documents she may have missed and signed in to the website.

The fight for her mind and soul rages on. She picks up her bow, her best weapon. Her sister pulls out her paired knives, her best weapons. They go to hunt the evil muse, their father of their imaginary world.

...

The sisters are fighting their father again, on top of a hill as the war of imagination rages on. The sister is on her back the evil father ready to strike, the girl looses an arrow and he swats it away. He can strike before she can reload even though she is moving as fast as she can.

A blaze of light flares and a sword lands between the girls. A voice booms out the name of the sword and its powers and restrictions. Everyone scatters from the power of that voice.

"A magic sword would be rather handy right now, and wasn't that the voice of that man who helped them last night?" asked Merida. She looks and sees the man at his computer a look of distress on his face Aurora and Rapunzel inspiring him.

He had gotten the idea for the sword on the way to the store. He had thought it an immensely powerful weapon, one of the more powerful he had every read about, powerful enough to have restrictions on the use of it. He had thought it curious he was working on a quiet little family drama story and didn't need anything like that sword.

But then he remembered what had happened last night and ran home realizing what must have happened, his kids were in trouble and needed help and somehow he got it. He needed to get it to them. He quickly wrote it and posted it hoping that they would get it in time.

Then he read the description of the sword again and paled.

"Oh bother!" said Mulan with an invective that surprised the new princess. "That's no sword. It's the test!"

"A test? Now! We're a little busy for a test," shouted Merida as she loosed another arrow.

"Not A test, THE test. It might look like a sword now, but it's been an oracle and a mirror, among many other things. If they try to use it they are going to see inside themselves."

"How is that going to help?"

"If they pass we will be able to give them gifts."

"And if they fail, will they die?"

"There are fates worse then death." Mulan said soberly.

"Oh bother!" snarled Merida.

...

"What's wrong? Pick up the magic sword and let's finish this. He's getting away," shouted the sister to the girl, shouting across the empty computer lab, she had wiped out all the story notes she could find there.

The girl was trying but her hand couldn't get hold it.

"I can't," the girl cried through her tears, she had read the words and had hoped that since it was a gift for her they might not apply to her but they did and it hurt, because they were true.

"Oh for the love of... Let me," the sister got up, came over and her hand passed right through the sword. "What the...?" She tried again, but it still didn't work. "Why?"

"I'm so sorry, I'm such a bad sister. I tried to save you by offering myself to Father. I didn't want to win the challenge, it would keep you safe." said the girl, tears streaming down her face, not looking at her sister.

Then the sister understood and bowed her head. Lie Breaker was a magic sword and it would not let anyone pick it up who held a lie in their heart.

And she had so many lies in hers.

"I'm so sorry too. I'm a bad sister too, but I still love you and will no matter what."

"I love you too, now and forever more." The girl and her sister hug in both worlds.

"We are the muses, because these heroes have seen into their own hearts and accepted themselves faults and all, we proclaim them Epic Heroes. And give them gifts to fight evil." sang out Mulan, Merida and a multitude of muses.

The girl's bow and quiver and the sister's knives glowed as they became greatly enhanced, representing a renewed strength inside their souls to resist evil.

"What just happened?" asked the sister of the girl.

"I'm not sure, but we just got weapon upgrades. Come on let's get to some cover and figure out a plan." They rush to the forest and leave the sword behind, catching the bus home.

...

"We are running out of time, so many of our characters have died to protect us, he's killed Mother." said the sister in a pleading voice.

"I know, I felt it too." said the girl sadly. Mother was a muse that had helped them fill this world with life, she could blaze like a forest fire, but she was gone now. So much of the story had been fed to the fire in the barbecue in the backyard.

"It has to be you. I've hit him so hard but he doesn't stay down. You called him up, he's connected to you, you need to break that connection," said the sister sternly.

"I know," said the girl quietly, running a hand over her bow. "I've tried but I couldn't take the shot."

"You must, before its too late."

"I know, I'm trying."

"I know you are. Here he comes again."

"Let's go up in the trees. I can harass him with my bow from there."

...

"He's not giving up," comments the sister seeing their evil father at the base of the tree.

"I know," says the girl sadly, there was just the main binder left, she was hugging it to her chest.

"I love you," says the sister and then she elegantly dives from the branch to land next to the monster.

She knew she could not defeat him, not really. But she also knew her sister loved her enough to save her. It might be enough to force the girl to take the shot to kill their evil father. They fought with full ferocity. She was holding her own waiting, praying for the girl to take the shot. She blocked the dagger then the sword and spun to block the dagger coming from the other side but their evil father found an opening and laid open her back.

The sister went down screaming in pain.

"I'll claim you first then, my daughter!" laughed the evil muse. He leaned down and grabbed her hair preparing to strike the final blow and take her mind over completely.

"Daddy!" the sister cried with everything she had, everyone had failed her, even herself, even though she had thought of herself as strong.

"Don't you DARE touch MY daughter, you son of a bitch!" roared a man that appeared in dragon armor, with a voice that shook the trees. Merida sees the man wondering why he is weeping and panting in terrible anger as he is trying to make dinner.

The evil character froze and slowly looked up, exposing his throat, and saw a man with a bow, fully drawn, the tip of the arrow just inches from his face.

"I'm sorry father, I love you," whispered the girl as loosed the arrow aimed at the throat of the evil character.

As she finally dropped the manuscript into the fire.

The evil character and the whole imaginary world they made together fades and they are free. They weep, for the price of freedom was so very high. They had worked on that story for years, but it had come so close to destroying them and it needed to be destroyed, but it had felt like ripping out their own hearts and placing them in the fire.

...

Merida and Mulan watch as the girl sits at the computer and sends a message, "Thank you Daddy for loving us so much and fighting for us and showing us the way out."

"You're welcome my daughter. I knew that if you fought you would win."

"I had embraced him. I loved him. We made a world together. He was hurting me but there wasn't anywhere else to go that I knew loved me. I didn't want to fight. He had fathered our world. He was the father of my imagination and I loved him more than anything, even my real life father."

The man was dumbstruck, he had thought he had known her heart and he knew she loved so very deeply, "B-b-but then why did you fight?"

"For you. I believed you that there was good left in me. Because all the pain that I went through, following your instructions, showed me that you were trying to set me free, I'm sorry that I didn't follow them all the way every time. But I knew that I could trust you. I trust you completely, Daddy, I love you," said the girl sobbing.

The man is in tears, humbled by this trust and love. "Thank you, so much my daughter. I love you too. How could I not?"

"My parents are grounding me from the computer, "for life." So I get to be like Rapunzel, but they are letting me say goodbye first. It will be a long time before we can talk again. I love my parents and they are trying to help, so I will do what they say. I'll never forget you." A small smile in the midst of the tears.

"Rapunzel doesn't break her promises and neither should you. I will not, cannot, forget you. See you on the other side, even if it's at the Judgement Bar. You are a good girl. I am proud of you. My daughter, I love you." And the man pressed his fingers to his lips and pressed them to the screen before pressing send. And then he walked over to his wife and gave her a good kiss, telling her they would need to talk later, and then bounded over to his little girl and gave her an extra hug and a tickle and a chase around the house.

The girl read the words on the screen and touched them, and put her finger to her lips, printed out the page for her new paper diary and shuts down the computer and gives it to her parents whom she hugged and thanked, before they went to the psychologist.

"That was amazing. Does that happen often?" asked Merida.

"No. No, it doesn't. While many heroes are proclaimed everyday, that was special, even for us." Mulan smiled.

~ The End ...of this Adventure ~

* * *

The Universe is a wondrous, dangerous place. We can make it better or worse by our choices. Be careful out there.


End file.
